A bill that provides tax relief for renters of jeonse and wolse (monthly rent) living in other regions due to work-related reasons is being pushed forward. This comes as both ruling and opposition parties are inundated with various tax cut pledges. It seems to reflect expectations that the 'real estate' issue will attract the centrist voters in the early presidential election phase. However, concerns have been raised that there are no fiscal measures from the political circles amid a sharp decline in tax revenues.
According to the National Assembly's bill information system on the 25th, Park Hae-cheol, a representative member of the Democratic Party, introduced a revision of the Special Taxation Limitations Act the previous day. The aim is to alleviate the housing cost burden for workers who own one dwelling but inevitably reside in other regions due to work.
Under the current law, repayments of loan principal and interest for jeonse funds and rental payments are subject to tax benefits only for 'non-homeowners.' If certain criteria are met, a portion of the principal and interest repayment for borrowing funds used for dwelling rentals and monthly rent can be deducted.
The revised bill expands the deduction eligibility to 'workers with one dwelling.' If the head of the household or their spouse resides outside their owned home due to relocation, they will receive deductions on their monthly rent and borrowing fund used for housing. Park noted, "Workers who are forced to rent are in a tax benefit blind spot," highlighting the need to alleviate housing burdens for dual-income families and weekend couples.
This revision comes as Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party who declared 'centrist conservatism,' has indicated a reduction in inheritance tax, income tax, and corporate tax. The Democratic Party plans to pursue legal amendments such as raising the current minimum limits for the inheritance tax deduction from 500 million won to 800 million won for individual and 1 billion won for spouses, eliminating the spouse inheritance deduction limit (3 billion won), increasing the basic tax credit for earned income from 1.5 million won to 1.8 million won, and providing a 10-year corporate tax deduction for corporations that produce and sell products utilizing national strategic technologies.